Disneyland 2015: Round 2

Well folks, I did it. I went back to Disneyland within 6 months of already going this year. It was actually a family trip that my mom earned through her Pampered Chef business this time so it's a little more justified (just like my trip in November is justified ;) ) this time than last. 

The trip that my mom earned was 3 days in the park with a stay at the Grand Californian Hotel and Spa. Never having stayed in a Disney Resort Hotel (we usually stay at other hotels within walking distance of the gate), we were excited to see what it was all about. 

However, after having stayed there, I can honestly say I'll keep my hotels across the street. The staff is amazing but the Grand Californian is looking a little old and tired and the room wasn't any bigger than the other hotels we normally stay in. 

The Grand Californian has a little waiting area for kids in front of a TV that plays Mickey cartoons on a loop. We saw one of the other guests try and fail to sit in the mini chairs so I decided I had to give it a try, too. Conveniently, my butt still fits in a baby chair and I watched old school Mickey while I waited for my family to finish checking in. 

After that, we headed straight into California Adventure, which is attached to the hotel. The first thing we rode? The Little Mermaid ride, of course! It's one of my favorite rides between either park and I admittedly ride it a handful of times every time I'm there. 

After getting to the hotel and checking in, we got to the park around 9 and we wandered around for a bit before deciding we would rather be in Disneyland proper and headed across the way. 

This trip was actually the first time we're all been as a family since my younger sister started college a couple of years ago, which was nice since I had someone to go on rides with and hang out with while we were in the parks. 

Don't get me wrong, I love Tangled, but I was not happy that my sister and I stood in line for 20 minutes to meet Merida (to recreate my photo from 5 months ago), only to have Rapunzel come out as we got to the front of the line. It was super hot and there was what has to be the crankiest lady I've ever met behind us in line, so I wasn't having it. Plus, I missed the show at The Golden Horseshoe while we were in line and I've never seen it before. 

This is the view from our room. It was actually really cool to be able to see the park (and parts of World of Color) without having to brave the heat and all the maniacs with strollers. 

Day 2

The best part about staying in a Disneyland Resort hotel is Extra

Magic Hours. You get a full hour in the park before it opens to do whatever you want. Uh, way cool!

My dad and I got up early on Friday morning and hit the rides that normally have the longest lines during the day: Midway Mania and Radiator Springs Racers. Both of them we practically walked on to which I loved. 

Ran into Mater on his way to work first thing in the morning ;)

When my mom and sister finally woke up, we headed over to Disneyland to get me a Dole Whip. I have a very specific list of favorite treats that I must have when at Disneyland and Dole Whips are at the top of the list which means standing in a long line and maybe or maybe not hitting the Tiki Room afterward. 

ALL OF THE DOLE WHIPS 😍 The line was sooooooo long but so worth it. And I got to go into the Tiki Room through the hosts entrance because it took so long #besttikiroomvisitever

This was by far the best perk of our trip. If you have the Disney Chase Visa card, you get an exclusive character meet and greet in California Adventure. Shorter lines and a free 5x7 photo are definitely worth it! Plus, I've never seen Daisy in the parks before so this was actually a cool experience and Daisy is an excellent sassy pose coach. 

Day 3

Our last day in the parks was Saturday. It was a really chill day, we had Extra Magic Hours in Disneyland that day and headed over as soon as it opened. We hit the rest of the rides we wanted to see (including Matterhorn, which is still super uncomfortable post redo, FYI) and then had lunch at Cafe Orleans. 

After lunch, we went back to California Adventure because I had heard that Stitch would be at the Chase Meet and Greet area and I wanted to get a picture with him. Full disclosure: I watch Lilo and Stitch when I'm having a bad day and he's by far one of my favorite Disney characters. 

After that we went back to the hotel for naps before the Pampered Chef event that would have us in a very empty California Adventure until 1 am. 

Buuuut I got bored and met my sister in the park to hang out and then leave guest compliments for all the great cast members we had met on our trip. 

Here's the group (sans mom) on our way to the park to start our late night adventure. I grabbed a very nice Pampered Chef staffer and asked her to please take our picture. I think they turned out quite well and this one was my favorite of all the ones she took. 

We met Mike Wazowski and in fact I made a cast member let a shy little girl pose with him first because she had been waiting and our group was supposed to be the last ones to get a photo opp. 

"I just can't control my happiness (or my hair)." Kelly O'Moore

Another round of Radiator Springs Racers and Midway Mania were the highlight of the night and an exclusive showing of World of Color to top it all off. 

Obligatory Flik pic since he was standing all by himself in A Bugs Land on our way over to ride Tower of Terror for the second time that night. Flik needs to work on his posing. 

Overall it was a good trip but I much prefer going during off season. Believe it or not, I'm going back again in November to celebrate my boyfriend finishing his paramedic training course and to see it all decorated for Christmas too. 

That Time I Found My Twin

Greetings, friends! Welcome to 2015 on this blog. Did you miss me? I know, I know, I'm really not good at the whole regular blogging thing still. Consider it a New Years resolution. In the meantime, why don't I tell you a bit about what I've been up to since my last post, shall I? 

The new year so far has started out brilliantly. I was offered my first grown up last job on New Year's Eve, which I enthusiastically accepted. I started this week, in case you were wondering. But before I started life as a real, contributing member of society, I thought I'd have a bit of fun first. 

Which brings me to my trip to Southern California. 

I can't remember if I've told you or not, but my sister is starting the Disney College Program down in Anaheim. She'll be there for the next 8 months or so, working in the parks. And someone had to take her down there and move her in, right? 

We live in Northern California so to get down there it's either take a plane (which isn't really feasible if you're moving your life down there for 8 months) or drive. And it's a loooooong drive. Rather than drive down with my mom and sister and spend 8 plus hours in the car bored out of my head, I thought I would fly down a couple days early to visit some friends I have down here. That way, I could have even more fun before helping to move her in on Sunday and going to Disneyland the next day. 

My visit was really fun, and definitely a recharge opportunity for me after all the stress at my old retail job. Unfortunately though, I definitely was having too much fun to take any pictures, so I have nothing to show for it. However, I did take a picture of my Peanut Butter Stout at the Stadium Tavern when we went for lunch. 

Disneyland on the other hand is a place all about pictures. And I had some very specific goals that day which means I have little more to show for my efforts on that front.

We got to the park when it opened and managed to get into a relatively short, really fast line. Once we were in the park, we booked it to Peter Pan's Magic Flight. Even though it's been around for 60 years, that is consistently the longest line we ever stand in. I have always loved the ride, I mean, there's mermaids for crying out loud! I managed to snap a shot of the mermaid mural at the end of the ride on our way out. 

After Peter Pan, Alice was closed down so we hit It's a Small World. The cool thing was that it was still decorated for Christmas. I love Christmas so a little carryover was definitely appreciated. Plus they sang Christmas carols rather than the It's a Small World song which I appreciated even more.

In case you were wondering where Santa spends his off season, it's right here ;)

Scotland! I swear this lady was like moving on purpose to get into my pictures. 

It was so irritating that I started shooting pictures from the back of the boat instead. 

I think that my taking pictures of Ireland every time I'm on this ride goes without saying.

This picture I had to take because it's a family joke. When I was little, I wasn't 

as adept at Spanish as I am now and I thought the song was saying, "Felice Naughty Dog"

which is how I would sing it. Once my family noticed, that was how we all

started to sing it and that's how it's been ever since.

I took this one for my mom because she wanted it as her phone background

and she still isn't that quick with her phone camera. It turned out surprisingly good.

Right after, I tried to get on Thunder Mountain only to have both tracks shut down right as I was getting to the front of the line. 

After that, we started to head through Fantasyland because I wanted to go to the Fantasy Fun Faire to see if Merida was in the Hall of Princesses...or whatever they call it. She wasn't but she was right outside and we got in line immediately. 

And, one of the girls in front of us in line gave me her "I'm Celebrating" button! I mentioned in passing to my mom that I still wanted to go to City Hall to get one because I was, in fact, celebrating my new job but hadn't wanted to stand in the massive line first thing in the morning. We had been talking on and off with the girls in front of us in line because it was one's birthday, one's first visit, and one of the girls is a diehard Disney lover and was telling us that this Merida was a lot better than most of them. When she heard me mention that I still needed the button, one of the girls reached into her bag and handed hers to me. It was so sweet. 

My mom snapped a bunch of pictures with me and Merida. For some reason, I got really starstruck and was nervous but she was really sweet. I walked up and she immediately said, "Has anyone ever told you that you look like me?" and I said, "No, but thank you for thinking so." She proceeded to tell me that we could be twins and that we should find a third lookalike and dress up to play tricks on her three brothers. I was literally thrilled by the whole thing and got some pretty cute pictures with her as well. 

This was during the "twins" exchange. 

"Say Angus!"

Ignore the size of my hair. It was oddly misty there that day and I actually ended up being freezing. My sister actually brought me a jacket when she picked us up in Downtown Disney because I couldn't take it anymore. 

After leaving Merida, we hopped on Pirates and had one of the bumpiest rides we've ever experienced, even getting stuck for a solid 5 minutes in the treasure trove section. We had lunch at Cafe Orleans which is by far my favorite restaurant in the parks. As usual, I had to have a Mint Julep, so here's the obligatory photo of that. 

Lunch was delicious. I had the gumbo with a side of hot sauce (this is the only way to eat. They make it for kid's pallets and if you don't add some spice to it, it's really boring), and my mom had some salad or other. Obviously you don't go to Cafe Orleans without getting Mickey Mouse Beignets. We were stuffed. However, I thought it was an excellent idea to try my luck on Thunder Mountain right after eating lunch and have to report that the redo on the ride is fantastic. It's so much better than it was! 

At that point, we were due to use our fast passes for Indiana Jones and pretty much walked on which was awesome because that line is nothing to mess around with. After eating a huge lunch and going on two bumpy rides right after, I decided it was time to tone it down a bit and we did a little shopping on Main Street. 

After accidentally discovering the flag retirement ceremony a few years ago, we always make sure that we're at the Main Street Train Station in time to see it. On our way there, I finally was able to get my picture with Minnie who was maybe 5 feet tall, ears and all. 

 By that time, it was time for the Soundsational Parade, and the flag retirement ceremony. Both of which I'd seen before so I wasn't as interested, but my mom loved it. 

Our last ride of the day was Buzz Lightyear's Astro Blasters and I have to say, I outdid myself, as evidenced by the picture. At that point, we were cold and tired and decided to get some treats from the Confectionary on Main Street and meet my sister in Downtown Disney. 

I mean...I don't want to toot my own horn but toot toot, beep beep.

Overall, it was a really fun day. No pressure and no people so that was fantastic. We'll be back in June, but I can honestly say after that, I'm ok with holding off for a while. 

October Favorites

First of all, how is it November First?! I feel like I was just celebrating New Year's and here I am watching Christmas things on Netflix (yes, I caved early this year. But I bought myself a Fresh Balsam candle at Bath and Body Works, and the Christmas tree scent is killin' me!). 2014 has, so far, been one of the best years of my life. I'm actually thrilled with how my life has turned out so far. 

After that profound little moment, let's move on to my months favorites, shall we? 

-City Classified Ankle Boots. Hi, I'm Chelsea and I spend a lot of time on Pinterest. I see thousands of outfits, and most of the outfits I pin seem to feature adorable ankle boots. Which clearly means I also need adorable ankle boots.  

For the last two fall/winter seasons I've been searching for the perfect ones and accidentally found them in the front window of Tilly's one day last month. 

These are the perfect boots. They're so comfortable, even with the little heel. I think if I had designed them they wouldn't have come out any better. 

-Jack-O-Lantern Charm. I got my first Pandora bracelet 6 months ago on my trip to Punta Cana. Nothing else stood out to me as a souvenir so I went to the Pandora store at the resort looking for a unique charm. 

Unfortunately, there are no unique charms with Pandora, but I've worn my bracelet every day since. I only take it off to shower. I wasn't really interested in other charms from the store (I mean, besides the obvious mermaid charm) until I saw the little Jack-O-Lantern charm they brought out for Halloween. My mom got it for me as payment with helping her out at work, and I've loved the festive little touch he's added to my wrist this month (and for every month from now on).

-ELF Mauve Blush. Basically there is no reason for me to have bought this other than being bored with my entire makeup collection and needing to switch things up. I was all ready to splash out on a Nars or MAC blush until I hit Target one day for something completely unrelated and remembered ELF's $3 blushes. This shade looks like a natural flush on me and gives my every day makeup an edge for the cooler weather.

-About a Boy. Never paid much attention to this show when it premiered. I saw snippets because my mom watches it, but never saw anything good enough to sit down for. 

Bored one day, I clicked on the first season and proceeded to laugh my ass off. The premise of the show is that an independently wealthy man (we later found out he wrote a smash-hit Christmas song) living in San Francisco gets some new neighbors: an overly clingy hippie mother and her 11 year old son who, as you can imagine, desperately needs some male influence in his life. Main character, Will, rescues the boy from bullies one day and their friendship grows from there. It is such a funny and sweet show that I think anyone would like to watch it. 

-Call the Midwife.  I'm definitely a Masterpiece kinda girl. I found this on Netflix and thought I would give it a shot earlier this month. It was fantastic. I don't know what it is about midwives in impoverished South London in the 1950's, but I watched all 3 seasons in a week and have the premiere of season 4 already marked on my calendar...next year. It's a great show with great writing and an interesting cast of characters. Definitely check it out if you enjoy BBC Programming. 

-Last Man Standing. Let's just say it was a really good month for me and Netflix. I watched this show back in the day when it first premiered, but between the first episode of the second season and the new Kristen, Boyd and whatever the heck the obnoxious baby daddy's name is, I couldn't take it anymore. It was just not the same show. 

However, in my post Call the Midwife search for something to watch, I decided to give it a try and loved getting back into it. It's also opened my eyes to the fact that I'm apparently a 60-something year old man on the inside because ALL of Tim Allen's jokes make me laugh.

November is going to be a big month. I have a lot of things going on and you can expect a few blog posts about pre-holiday shenanigans, especially after Thanksgiving. 

Two Months Worth of Favorites

Ladies and gentlemen, prepare yourselves for a favorites super post! Ok, maybe I was just really lazy and didn't feel the need to post after July due to the straight up awkwardness that were my favorite things of July.

To be totally honest, I don't know where summer went. I feel like yesterday was the Fourth and I was going to the rodeo. Now, it's September already and for the first time in...16 years, I'm not going back to school. It's going to be an interesting year for me...adjusting to life without semesters and classes. But I have faith I'll get used to it.

I started to do this back in early August as my July Favorites but my favorites from July were so weird and random that I decided to save them and combine with August's for one big super post. Probably really lazy but whatever.

Anyway, let's chat about my long overdue favorites, shall we?

-Pixi Glow Tonic. I saw this in MeghanRosette's monthly favorites video a couple of months ago and considering she too has been dealing with skin struggles for most of her time on YouTube (and somehow seems to have skin flare ups a the same time that I do) I decided to give it a shot. It doesn't hurt that I got it for 25% off and free shipping with a coupon code I found on RetailMeNot (that site is genius. Check it out next time you're online shopping). I've used it twice a day, maybe not every day, but with relative regularity and have noticed a definite improvement in my skin. It has a very strong floral smell so if that's something that you're not into, I would look elsewhere. Otherwise, it's a great product that works very well and as long as the bottle finishes the way it has started, I will most likely be purchasing this for a long time to come.

-Origins Clear Improvement Mask. For all 0f 2014, I've been struggling with my skin. Not anything too major, but after taking Accutane twice, it's been really annoying. This mask is a godsend for my skin when I'm breaking out a ton. It dries acne out and shrinks my pores and despite the salesgirl telling me that you're not supposed to use it all over your face, I will continue to do so because my skin LOVES it. A lot.

-Too Faced Chocolate Bar Palette. This was one of those things I just couldn't be bothered to purchase for $50 when it initially came out. Despite the fact that it was always in the back on my mind as something I'd be interested in having, I never ever would have actually picked it up had I not seen this blog post from Nouveau Cheap with the $20 off coupon and I'm so glad I did. While I haven't really been wearing a ton of makeup this summer, the times that I have taken the time to go all out with the war paint, I've been reaching for this. It is the perfect collection of neutral colors that I can use in my every day routine. In fact, it is going to be featured in a post coming up where I do a little bit of a makeup discussion/tutorial.

-Trader Joe's Coconut Green Tea. Ok, I totally went out and bought this because I saw it on my Trader Joe's app (yes, TJ's now has an app). The packaging was what got me. Then I saw that it said coconut and that was it. I haven't really been drinking hot tea in the last few weeks bed ause of the heat, but for a while there, I was drinking a mug or two every day. It's that good. Now, it's a loose leaf tea so I have to use the little birdy infuser with it and in fact, let's add that to my list of favorites as a combo. Between the two of them, I get my mug of delicious tea with no hassle and can wake myself up with delicious coconut green tea every morning.

If you do run out and get it, keep in mind that the lid pops off like it's made of rubber. Also, I steep it for between 5 and 10 minutes, rather than the suggested 2-3 on the packaging. If you do it for that short of a time, it tastes like water and you're just wasting tea. 

-Numi White Rose Tea. If Disney Princesses had their own tea, this would be it! I was introduced to this tea by my little sister who brought this home after one of her various trips to my grandpa's house. For some reason he gave her a ton of tea that he'd brought down here with him when he moved last fall. It has a light floral taste and smells like a fresh blooming bouquet of roses. I became obsessed. Like hunted it down and bought THREE boxes on Amazon obsessed. It's amazing. This summer, I've been obsessed with rose things, and this tea is no exception. I made it into a pitcher of iced tea before I left for SoCal in July and was drinking three glasses a day of iced white rose tea. Can you go to rehab for tea addiction? Is that a thing? Either way, I'll keep drinking it in the hopes that one day, I'll wake up and be a Disney Princess. 

-My Ursula Mug. As a lifelong lover of Ariel (I spent a good deal of my toddlerdom pretending to be the little mermaid, sitting on the top step of every pool I encountered, flipping my "tail" around and singing the little mermaid song), anything Little Mermaid related gets me. The funny thing is that I always thought that my grandma looked like Ursula. From the puff of white hair to the long nails and red lips, they were literally twins in my eyes...except my grandma obviously wasn't a half octopus hybrid. And recently, I came across this mug online at the Disney Store site and KNEW I had to have it. I was going to get it while I was down south in July, but a very nice friend of ours gave me a free shipping coupon for the site and I figured paying Sacramento tax rate was going to be cheaper than paying for it down in Anaheim since shipping wasn't an issue. Needless to say, when it came in the mail, I was in love. She now lives at my newly reorganized desk area and I couldn't be happier that I ordered her.

-My custom painted "Disney Parks" Starbucks cup. Is this not the most adorable cup in the entire world? I have a girlfriend who decorates the Starbucks travel cups as a side gig and a few months back, she posted a picture of a Starbucks cold cup with the Disney Parks Starbucks pattern on it. Of course, considering my Disneyland obsession, I HAD to have it and ordered one immediately. And since I picked it up from her a couple of weeks ago, it's been the only thing I've been drinking my water out of, which is good since I'm currently in the middle of a 5 day bikini body challenge with my mom and need to be drinking all the water I can get. 

-Lake Tahoe. About two months ago, one of my girlfriends and I decided we wanted to go to Lake Tahoe for a day trip when we both had the day off...except that turned from a day out to going back the very next week to spend yet another day out in South Lake. I can easily say that Tahoe is definitely my speed. It's laid back and vacation-y without being too boring and the food we've had up there is to die for. I just feel so at peace up there that I want to go back all the time.

-Netflix. For almost two years, I've been using Amazon Prime, rather than Netflix because it was cheaper to have Amazon Prime and I thought I wasn't missing much. WRONG. I got the free trial of Netflix again this month to watch Orange is the New Black as I mentioned above and I haven't been on Amazon Prime once since getting it. At this point, I'm pretty sure I'm going to cancel Amazon Prime and go back to Netflix. Amazon Prime used to be able to compete, I'll give it that. But now that Netflix has its own content and has contracted with Disney, Amazon Prime has nowhere to go. Sorry Amazon. I'll miss you. Maybe.

-Orange is the New Black. Not being a Netflix user (I know, I know, but Amazon Prime was cheaper while I was a student.), I hadn't actually had the chance to watch the show at all. However, when I was down in Southern California this month, I watched the pilot with my girlfriend and was hooked. I've blown through both seasons online and can't wait to see what comes next.

-The Red Band Society.  I'm pretty sure I'm the last person I know to have heard about this show. I was watching the Pilot on Hulu the other day and when I told my sister how good it was she told me that the ads on Pandora were getting ridiculous and at the beginning of the episode, one of the cast members informs you that they've raised a ton of money thanks to all the people who sent in donations. Despite being the last person in the world to know this was even happening, I loved the pilot for the show and can't wait for more episodes. The show centers on teenage kids living in a hospital. The reasons for each kids' residence there is different, from kids living with cancer to a bitchy cheerleader with a heart condition. The cast of characters they've brought together is sensational and I found myself instantly hooked into the storyline. OH! PS, if you're a 90's kid like me, you'll see a familiar face show up and be pleasantly surprised. If you miss him, you're 90's kid card is hereby revoked because you definitely should have seen his movies.

-Chef. This movie came out of nowhere for me. I had never heard of it before my mom suggested that we go see it on one of the $6 Tuesday movie nights that our local theaters put on. Going in completely blind, I wasn't quite sure what to expect but I absolutely loved it. As I mentioned in my literary wish list post, I'm a foodie at my core and watching a movie about a wayward chef and father finding his way by opening a traditional Cuban food truck was totally up my alley. 

-The Hundred-Foot Journey. Yet another food movie, I also mentioned this in my literary wish list post. This one was one of those "too big to fail" pictures that could have gone either way. With Oprah and Steven Spielberg producing it, I was sure that it had to be good, but then again, sometimes when it's supposed to be the next Titanic, it is, literally. Nonetheless, I was really excited to see this and I took my mom two weeks ago. Other than some major lower back pain after sitting for the length of the movies, I had absolutely no complaints and was, in fact, in love with the story. I put the book on my literary wish list so that I can read it and see how it stacks up to one of my new favorite movies. 

-Maddie and Tae. I saw a Yahoo! feature about these ladies earlier this month and was immediately impressed with them and their story. Their single, "Girl in a Country Song", became available on iTunes while I was in Southern California two weeks ago. I only just now got around to downloading it but when I did, I listened to it 10 times in a row.  In fact, as a self-proclaimed music pirate who makes it a point of pride that I don't buy music from iTunes, the fact that I paid to own their single speaks for itself. If you for some reason haven't already heard it, stop reading and watch the video really quick. Ok, you watched? Sweet, so you now understand why this is epic. As a country music lover, this song cracks me up. If you listen closely, you can tell exactly which artists they're calling out in. But, if you don't have two country presets in your car like I do, that's fine too. Regardless of your musical alliances, this is a really well done song. It isn't in your face or immature, it just frankly and directly points out what has been happening in country and really all genres of music lately: making women into objects, rather than people. Maddie and Tae do it in a fun and silly way, especially with the video, that makes their message clear but isn't Sarah Palin in it's delivery.

-Hunter Hayes. On the other side of the coin, after talking about how men in the country music world are objectifying the ladies and treating them like bimbos, I'm including Hunter Hayes in my favorites this month (even though he's a favorite literally all the time, I LOVE him) because he's kind of the exception. Number one, he's a fantastic musician. On his debut album, he played all of the instruments in the songs...it came out to something like 32 instruments that he played. And to top it off,  all of his songs are so sweet and heartfelt and the way he writes about women is refreshing. He reminds me of that first boyfriend (most girls, not me, I had a drug dealer asshole) that you have that just loves you to death and is so damn sweet and brings you carnations to the date and pulls out your chair for you and knows what your coffee order is and brings it to you. Tangent alert! But seriously, if you haven't checked him out or have been living under a rock for the last two years, get your butt to his YouTube channel and watch his #FortheLoveofMusic videos. You'll fall in love too. He's just so darn endearing.